The Best Tips for Creating an Indispensable Mobile App

Custom app development is a fantastic way to merge creativity with technological innovation. Of course, it certainly doesn’t hurt that the app market is proving to be extremely profitable. Last year, Apple alone cleared $28 billion through their storefront.

Yet a few minutes perusing the app store of your choice will make one thing clear: there are so many unnecessary apps!

Between the Google Play store and the Apple App Store, there are billions of apps competing for users’ attention. How can you bring your creative vision to the world?
The answer is surprisingly simple: make it useful.

Here are a few tips on how you can create an indispensable app that will keep your audience coming back for more.

Analyze Your Personal App Usage

Custom app development is a lot like branding or marketing in the sense that you’ll want to start by looking at case studies. However, unlike those fields, you and your habits get to be the star of your very own study!

We all have those apps that we can’t get through our day without. Whether for productivity, entertainment, or communication, it’s estimated that the average consumer interacts with somewhere between eight to 12 apps on any given day.

Open your phone and take a quick look through your apps. What do these apps have in common? What made you download these apps in the first place?

When a user downloads an app, they’re making a conscious choice. They chose to download that one app over everything else in the store. Evaluating the reasoning behind the choice can go along way in helping you create your perfect app.

Don’t forget to ask ‘Why?’ before you ask yourself ‘How?’

Determine the App’s Purpose

Let’s continue with that line of thinking for a moment. Why should a user pick your app? Because it has value, of course. But before a single line of code is written, make sure the entire dev team understands that purpose.

Start by perfecting your elevator pitch. For those unfamiliar with the practice, an elevator pitch is the idea that any concept should only take as long to explain as an elevator ride.

This isn’t always as easy as it sounds, especially when you consider how complex custom app development really is. However, diluting your app into a sentence or two is a great way to determine whether an app is truly useful or not.

Keep Things Simple

With all of the heavy mental lifting out of the way, it’s finally time to get started on your custom app development.

Initially, it may be tempting to prioritize the app’s design of the usability. And, on one hand, this makes sense to a certain extent. A quick flick through the app store means you’re interacting with hundreds of apps, so it’ll have to look nice.

But don’t get so caught up in the aesthetics of your app that you forget to make it fun and easy to use. Design is great, don’t get us wrong, but usability needs to be your biggest priority.

The best apps on the market are those that, when the colors and logos are stripped away, remain usable and fun. The design will come in time, however, you’d do well to focus your efforts on barebones usability first.

Remember Your Scope

There’s an old saying: jack of all trades, master of none. It’s a little cliche, perhaps, but keep it in mind as you begin development.

Ambitions are great, don’t get us wrong. But novice app developers tend to think their app needs to solve every problem a user faces day in and day out. It’s admirable, sure, but ultimately it’s nearly impossible to achieve.

There’s no need to create an app that does a hundred different things poorly. Focus your efforts on creating an app that does one or two things and does them well.

Always keep your project’s scope in mind.

Give the Audience a Reason to Come Back

We currently live in what experts refer to as an attention economy. Time is now every bit as relevant a currency as money itself.

Therefore, make sure you’re giving your audience a reason to come back. As previously established, there’s no shortage of apps available to download. An app should maintain its utility if it’s truly going to be indispensable.

One popular way to encourage repeat interactions is through gamification. With this process, the app developers implement systems such as leveling or rewards for hitting certain milestones. In essence, you’re rewarding them for their loyalty and continued use.

For example, let’s say you’re looking to create a game. The most common example would be to provide users with a daily login bonus.

Don’t Annoy Your Audience

It’s understandable that you want your users to interact with your app on a frequent basis. Sometimes life (or other apps) gets in the way.

Don’t make the same mistake that countless developers have made, let your audience be. Push notifications, while useful to an extent, should be used sparingly.
If you annoy your audience and beg them to come back, they’re likely going to delete your app.

Remember, repeated interaction needs to be encouraged through the app itself. If your app is indispensable, users are already going to come back. Badgering them into opening your app isn’t going to get you anywhere.

Don’t Forget to Test Your App

Finally, make sure that you’ve tested your app thoroughly before it hits the marketplace. This phase can take weeks, but taking your time is far better than releasing a broken app.

Test the app yourself, then give it to family and friends and let them use it. Try and break your app. It sounds silly, maybe, but it’s the only way to make sure it’s ready for release.

Are You Interested in Custom App Development?

Creating an indispensable app is tough, so why not get a little bit of help? Contact The Appineers today and let our custom app development bring your vision to life.

With an extensive portfolio and list of services, we thrive on working with creative individuals looking to make a difference. So get in touch, we’d love to work with you.